Ning Yuan.

Sun Chuanting was discussing with his staff, when someone suddenly came to report, and the commander of Jinyiwei asked Tian Ergeng to see him.

"That's it for now, you go down and prepare." Sun Chuanting instructed the staff, and then asked people to bring Tian Ergeng in.

"Lord Sun, the lower officials got a secret report that five days ago, the slave chief Huang Taiji led tens of thousands of troops to the west from Shenyang." After Tian Ergeng saluted, he said with a solemn expression.

"I really want to make a detour to Jibei!" Sun Chuanting looked stunned and muttered.

Not long ago, Sun Chuanting once again received a secret edict from Emperor Chongzhen, which told Sun Chuanting that Jiannu was likely to attack again, and this time Jiannu was going to attack Liaoxi and was likely to be Jibei, so that Sun Chuanting was ready to lead his troops back to Shanhaiguan, and Sun Chuanting's cavalry stayed in Liaoxi and cooperated with Liaodong Jinglu Xiangsheng to attack Jiannu's lair!

When he received the secret order, Sun Chuanting still didn't dare to believe it, and he didn't believe that Jiannu would really give up the near and far, and let the next Liaoxi not attack but would make a detour of thousands of miles to Jibei. Moreover, he didn't receive any news that Jiannu was going to send troops in Liaoxi, how did the emperor in the deep palace know?

Unexpectedly, now what the secret decree said has come true, which makes Sun Chuanting really shocked, not shocked by the invasion of Jiannu, but shocked by the unpredictable prophet of Emperor Chongzhen!

Tian Ergeng was also a little puzzled, looking at Sun Chuanting's expression, it seemed that he had already known, this was the information that his subordinate Shen Tong, who was lurking in Jiannu, had worked hard to get, and he came to report it as soon as possible!

Sun Chuanting came back to his senses and said with a smile: "Commander Tian has really worked hard, and he can get the news of Jiannu's dispatch of troops in time, so that the imperial court can react faster and strive to keep the enemy outside the border wall." ”

Speaking of which, Sun Chuanting actually has no confidence, and he has no confidence in whether the Jizhen border army can stop the Jiannu army.

Jibei is different from Liaoxi, thousands of miles of side walls, most of them are in serious disrepair, and there are dozens of border wall passes, which can be entered everywhere. Although Sun Chengzong supervised Jibei for a period of time, it was impossible to completely repair the Jibei defense line. And now Sun Chengzong has returned to Beijing to join the cabinet as a university scholar, and Jibei is not presided over.

Now, Jiannu should still be on the way to Jibei over the mountains, and Tian Ergeng's subordinates sent information early, which means that the imperial court can lay out a few days in advance and strive to minimize the loss.

"Governor Sun, I don't understand, why did Jiannu take a detour of thousands of miles to attack Jibei if he didn't fight Liaoxi, which was close at hand?" Tian Ergeng was a little puzzled. After all, he was only born in Jinyiwei, and he was not proficient in strategy.

"It's very simple, the Guanning defense line is impregnable, and Jiannu has no confidence to break through. The north wall of the thistle is in disrepair, and the Jiannu can easily invade. Sun Chuanting explained casually.

"But Jiannu is alone in the army, aren't you afraid that we will cut off its grain route?" Tian Ergeng said again.

Sun Chuanting sighed: "Jiannu doesn't care about the grain at all, but has the idea of serving food in the Ming Dynasty. This is to see that the field combat ability of my Ming army is not as good as theirs. ”

In the final analysis, Jian Nugen was neither afraid of being cut off from the back road of the grain road, nor afraid of being besieged by the Ming army, so he would make such a seemingly crazy move. To put it bluntly, I didn't take the Ming army in my eyes at all! The purpose of Jiannu must be to loot, the Ming army's field combat ability is not good, and fighting in the field is not an opponent of Jiannu at all, so they can only stick to the city and let Jiannu plunder in the territory!

And His Majesty must have guessed that Jiannu would make a detour to Jibei, but he was unwilling to fight with Jiannu in the territory of Daming, and sent Lu Xiangsheng to take the Praetorian Guards to Phi Island in the name of pacifying the Dongjiang River. The Praetorian Guard attacked from Phi Island, and the Liaoxi cavalry cooperated, and the two-way attack might be able to attack the Jiannu lair! Jiannu's nest was attacked, how can its main force in Daming not retreat? This is the strategy to save Zhao from Wei Wei!

Your Majesty is such a ruthless man! Sun Chuanting sighed in his heart, this was clearly the idea of exchanging with Jiannu. You attack you, I attack mine, it depends on who can't bear it first!

However, the Ming Dynasty has a vast territory, and the population is 100 times that of Jiannu, so I am not afraid of the exchange at all! The loss rises!

At the same time, Sun Chuanting also felt excited, this is a great opportunity to recreate slaves! Maybe after this battle, the offensive and defensive situation between Daming and Jiannu will be different!

"Commander Tian, you immediately send someone to deliver a message to Guanglu Island in southern Liaoning, and let the defenders of Guanglu Island attack southern Liaoning! By the way, has it been reported to the imperial court? Sun Chuanting commanded in a deep voice.

"Before coming to see the lord, Xia Guan had already ordered someone to fly eight hundred miles to the imperial court in an urgent manner. The lower official ordered someone to give an order to Hiroshima. Tian Ergeng replied. The situation was urgent, and Tian Ergeng didn't stay long, and left with his fists in his hands after speaking.

Sun Chuanting continued to give orders and ordered Cao Wenzhao, the chief soldier of Ningyuan, to come and see him.

Cao Wen Zhaoben was training cavalry in the military camp outside the city, and hurried back to the city after receiving the order.

Sun Chuanting gave a brief introduction to the situation, and then instructed:

"General Cao, I want to lead the Ning Jin army back to Shanhaiguan, and will be responsible for leading the Shanhaiguan and Jizhen soldiers to deal with the invasion of Jiannu, while Ningyuan Jinzhou will be garrisoned by the deputy general He Kegang and others. You can't go with Bendu, you take your cavalry to Jinzhou and wait for an opportunity to attack Liaoyang.

Be careful, don't act rashly first, wait for the news that the Guangludao army has captured Lushun Jinzhou, if Jiannu reinforces southern Liaoning, you wait for the opportunity to attack and kill its reinforcements, and then lead the cavalry to attack Liaoyang directly! ”

"The last general commands!" Cao Wenzhao was overjoyed, and Sun Chuanting's order meant that he would lead an army alone and launch an attack on the Jiannu lair. Since the defeat of Sarhu, the Ming army has been pressed and beaten by Jiannu, and there has never been a large-scale counteroffensive, and now this moment has finally come!

"But Commander, Mao Chenglu of Guanglu Island has the courage to attack Liaonan, can he defeat Liaonan?" Cao Wenzhao was a little puzzled.

The Dongjiang Army's combat effectiveness is well known, if Mao Chenglu can't capture Lushun Jinzhou, then Jiannu won't send troops from Liaoyang at all, can he wait indefinitely?

Sun Chuanting said: "Guangludao is now not only Mao Chenglu, but also the Praetorian Guard left by Lu Jingluo, and it must not be a problem to capture southern Liaoning. From now on, you will obey Lu Jinglue's orders, if Jiannu does not reinforce southern Liaoning, Lu Jingliu will give you the order to attack. ”

"Yes, the Admiral knows." Cao Wenzhao thought for a while, and deliberately made a reluctant appearance, "But Commander, why don't you let me follow you to Shanhaiguan?" The last general still wanted to follow the commander, protect the commander, and lead the cavalry and the main force of Jiannu to fight to the death. ”

Go to Guannai and Jiannu's main force hard steel, where is it cool to attack Jiannu's hinterland, Jiannu's main force is exhausted, and those who remain are ordinary Eight Banner soldiers, the probability of winning is higher, and the possibility of meritorious service is greater. If you can attack the plough pavilion and sweep the cave under Liaoyang City, then the battle will be greater. On the contrary, following Sun Chuanting to Guannei, although the wall cavalry had been trained, Cao Wenzhao was not absolutely sure that he could defeat the main force of Jiannu, and he was afraid that there would be great casualties at that time, but he would not be able to make much merit. But now that Sun Chuanting is going to Guannei, although he doesn't want to go, he generally expresses his loyalty to the governor, right?

"How to fight is up to the court, you just need to follow orders." Sun Chuanting said lightly, how could he not see Cao Wenzhao's thoughts?

After sending Cao Wenzhao away, Sun Chuanting immediately gathered the army, left the deputy general He Kegang with 5,000 infantry to defend Ningyuan, and personally led the army to Shanhaiguan. At the same time, Sun Chuanting sent an order to Jinzhou, ordering 5,000 troops to be left to defend the city, and the remaining Jinzhou army led by Zu Dashou and others immediately drove to Shanhaiguan.

Jiannu's main force attacked Jibei, the Praetorian Guard and Liaoxi cavalry launched a counterattack on Jiannu's lair, and the army left behind by Jiannu was too busy to take care of itself, and it was impossible to attack Liaoxi, so there was no need to leave too many troops.

In this battle, Sun Chuanting mobilized more than 40,000 Liaoxi soldiers into Shanhaiguan! Coupled with Cao Wenzhao's 5,000 cavalry, Jinzhou Ningyuan, plus other castles, there were only more than 30,000 troops left behind in Liaoxi, and they were all weak armies.

From Ningyuan to Shanhaiguan is more than 200 miles, Sun Chuanting led the army all the way to Shanhaiguan, and it only took three days to reach Shanhaiguan. Long before Sun Chuanting arrived at Shanhaiguan, the intelligence of Jiannu's invasion had already been sent to Beijing City at an expedited speed of 800 miles.

......

"How is this good, how is this good......"

The cabinet received the urgent information of 800 miles, and several university scholars looked at each other, panicked in their hearts, and felt that the situation was serious.

Jiannu attacked and didn't stop, Jiannu has repeatedly invaded Liaoxi over the years, and everyone has become accustomed to it. But the problem is that this time it is Jibei who invades! This is the first time in history.

"Elder Sun Ge, how is the defense of Jibei, can you stop Jiannu?" Huang Liji asked. Everyone else also looked at Sun Chengzong.

Sun Chengzong had just stepped down as the governor of Jizhen and was most familiar with the situation there.

Sun Chengzong shook his head: "The north side wall of Ji is more than 1,000 miles long, Xifengkou, Gubeikou, there are dozens of mountain pass checkpoints that can enter the side wall, and Jizhen only has 30,000 or 40,000 troops, which is not enough to defend this defense line for thousands of miles." Although I have been the governor of Jizhen for a year, I have only renovated a few side walls in Yongping Mansion, such as a stone and Qingshan Pass, and as for the other side walls of the mountain passes, they have not yet had time to repair them......"

"Ugh." Huang Liji let out a long sigh, "When you were the first to supervise Jiliao, it would be nice if you also built some castles in Jibei." ”

Sun Chengzong was silent, during the Apocalypse, he served as the governor of Jiliao, and has always advocated the repair of cities in western Liaoning, from Ningyuan to Jinzhou, and then to the Daling River, built dozens of castles, and opened up hundreds of miles for the Ming Dynasty. But he never thought of renovating the defense line of the Great Wall in the north of Jibei.

The purpose is to defend instead of attacking, first restore Liaoxi, and then seek to recover Liaodong. And the castle built also made Jiannu like a fish in the throat, and attacked Liaoxi several times, and even attacked outside the city of Ningyuan, slaughtering Juehua Island.

The battlefield of the battle between the Ming Dynasty and Jiannu was in Liaoxi, and everyone knew this. But who would have thought that Jiannu would bypass Liaoxi and choose to take a detour of thousands of miles to attack Jibei?

Thinking about the weak defense line in Jibei, it couldn't resist the attack of Jiannu at all, and thinking about the situation after Jiannu broke through the side wall, Sun Chengzong felt extremely heartbroken.

Huang Liji and the others sighed, but they also knew that Sun Chengzong was no wonder about this. The north wall of Ji was originally the territory of the Mongols, and there has been no war between the Mongols and the Ming Dynasty in the past few decades, so who will be idle to renovate the north wall of Ji?

"Elders, Your Majesty summons!" At this moment, a eunuch hurried to the cabinet and announced the decree.

"Let's go, don't keep Your Majesty waiting." Huang Liji sighed and took the lead towards the door. Huang Liji could imagine how angry the emperor was now.

The cabinet room was in the palace, and it didn't take much effort for a few scholars to arrive at the Qianqing Palace. To the surprise of Huang Liji and others, Zhu Youzhen's expression was quite calm, and he didn't seem to be flustered.

Not long after a few people arrived, Hong Chengchou, the secretary of the military department, also came with an edict. Since then, all the relevant important ministers of the imperial court have arrived.

"Everyone should know the news that the Jiannu army is about to attack Jibei, let's talk about it, how should the imperial court respond?" Zhu Youzhen said calmly.

"Your Majesty, first Wang Zaijin led 30,000 Beijing battalions to Guizhou to quell the rebellion, and then Lu Xiangsheng led 30,000 Janissaries to Phi Island, now that Beijing is empty, the first thing to do now is to gather the Quartet army to enter Beijing Qinwang!" Huang Liji was the first to say.

Beijing City is in the south of Jizhou, once Jiannu breaks through the north wall of Jizhou, it will soon be able to attack the city of Beijing, and the Ming Dynasty will be in danger of dying!

The matter is too serious, and others naturally agree with Huang Liji's proposal. Others will be put aside first, and the safety of Beijing will be ensured first.

"Hong Chengchou, you are the secretary of the Ministry of War, how many troops are there in Beijing at the moment?" Zhu Youzhen looked at Hong Chengchou.

Hong Chengchou said respectfully: "Back to Your Majesty, there are still more than 20,000 soldiers in the Beijing camp at present, and if you add the Xiyuan Guards and the men and horses of the Five Cities Soldiers and Horses, there should be more than 30,000 people." ”

Lu Xiangsheng did not take all the Praetorian Guards with him, and there were still two battalions left in Xiyuan, one battalion was a veteran of the Praetorian Guard, and the other was a new battalion of the Praetorian Guard reorganized by Huang Degong in Xuanfu, with a total of 6,000 troops. As for the Five Cities Soldiers and Horses, although there are five or six thousand people, it is okay to sweep the streets and bully the people in normal times, but they have no combat effectiveness at all.

Zhu Youzhen didn't care about this, and continued to ask: "Can these 30,000 people defend Beijing City?" ”

Hong Chengchou hesitated: "This, the main force of Jiannu is pouring in, and the more troops defending the city, the better." ”

The city of Beijing is very large, and the 30,000 troops are not even satisfied with the city walls, so the number of troops is naturally not too much. But the problem is that there are only 40,000 or 50,000 Jiannu, and there are not enough troops to attack the city.

Beijing does not have many troops, but there are nearly one million people in the city, and there is no problem in mobilizing tens of thousands of young and strong people to defend the city, defending the city is not better than field warfare, there is no need to fight head-on, only need to have the strength to throw stones and ash bottles under the city, so mobilize and hold it will definitely be able to defend.

But Beijing City is the capital of the Ming Dynasty, and it is related to the safety of the emperor, how dare Hong Chengchou guarantee that he will definitely be able to defend it?

"According to the intelligence, Jiannu only has 40,000 or 50,000 troops, and 30,000 troops should be about the same if they only defend the city. It's really not good, when the time comes, all the nobles in the city will be recruited to take their families to the city to guard, and then the young and strong people in the city will definitely be able to defend it. Zhu Youzhen said,

"As for calling on the Quartet to serve the king, this is also right, but the provincial armies do not have to come to the city of Beijing, but to defend the various cities in Gyeonggi. If Jiannu breaks through the border wall, they will strictly defend the cities to prevent Jiannu from breaking the city and raiding it, and use each city as a stronghold, and then send troops to encircle and suppress the invaders. Hong Chengchou, your military department plans as soon as possible, and the Qinwang army is responsible for guarding the city, and how to provide the food and grass supplies needed by the Qinwang army along the way, sort it out as soon as possible, sort it out and submit it. ”

In the last life, the same call for the provincial army Qinwang, Henan, Shaanxi, and even Gansu troops were called to come, but the court at that time was in a panic, the placement of the Qinwang army was not clear at all, the Qinwang army passed through the place had a very poor attitude towards the passing army, refused to enter the city, not to mention that some local officials even refused to provide food supplies, so that some Qinwang troops were hungry, and could not get supplies for several days, and there was a mutiny halfway to the road, and the Qinwang soldiers turned into anti-thieves, so that the thieves in northern Shaanxi took the opportunity to develop and grow.

In this life, although the thieves in northern Shaanxi were nipped in the bud, Zhu Youzhen still did not want to see the mutiny of the soldiers of the Qin Wang, if there was a mutiny, who knew that there would be no new rebellion among the people? After all, the people of Shandong, Henan and other northern parts of the country are not much better off now than the people of northern Shaanxi at that time.

In fact, up to now, after two years of rectification by Zhu Youzhen, Daming is better than the previous life, but the lives of ordinary people have not improved much, and the people everywhere are still in dire straits.

Therefore, we must pay strict attention to the army of King Qin to prevent any mutiny!

"Order the local government to provide grain and grass supplies to the Qinwang army on the way, and if there is any delay, once it is verified, the local officials will be punished according to the theory of rebellion, and the official will be dismissed and killed!" Zhu Youzhen's tone became strong.

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Hong Chengchou hurriedly agreed. Huang Liji and the others also felt Zhu Youzhen's anger, and they didn't dare to say more.

King Qin's army had to enter the city to assist in defense, and the local government was responsible for the required food and salary, which solved the problem of Qinwang's army and prevented mutiny. And the local government withholds a large amount of tax grain every year, and if it is not in this place, it will also be embezzled by those local officials.

In the provincial armies, the soldiers are as poor as beggars, and their combat effectiveness is not good at all, and they are not at all sure about fighting with Jiannu, but it is still possible to defend the city. Assist in guarding the counties and towns of various prefectures, forcing Jiannu to spend troops to attack the city, if Jiannu does not attack the city, he can only attack the countryside, the people in the countryside are very poor, and under the strong wall and clear wilderness, Jiannu can not get too much wealth.

If the Jiannu raid the countryside, the troops must be divided, and if they are too scattered, they can send elite troops from each city to attack, and they may be able to kill Jiannu by surprise. If Jiannu does not divide the army and cannot capture the city, it is estimated that the grain copied from the countryside will be difficult to supply itself! An army of 40,000 or 50,000, including men and horses, consumes a huge amount every day.

This is the countermeasure that Zhu Youzhen, Lu Xiangsheng and Hong Chengchou have discussed for a long time. The field battle is not the opponent of Jiannu at all, and if you insist on fighting, the army can only be wiped out by Jiannu one by one. Now it is a clear field and passive defense in the territory, but the real main force of the Ming army is in Liaoxi, on Phi Island, to attack the nest of Jiannu!

However, Huang Liji and the other elders didn't know Zhu Youzhen's plans, and after listening to Zhu Youzhen's words, they were all a little uneasy. If King Qin's army does not come to Beijing, what if the city of Beijing is broken by Jiannu?

"Your Majesty, Beijing is empty of troops, and it is still necessary to mobilize some troops." Wen Tiren also persuaded.

Zhu Youzhen said: "Besides, if Jiannu really wants to storm Beijing, I will transfer Xuanfu troops into the city." ”

Among the border troops, only the Xuanfu soldiers who had been trained by Hong Chengchou and Huang Degong were the most trustworthy, and according to Zhu Youzhen's plan, the Xuanfu soldiers would be deployed in Tongzhou to protect Tongzhou Cangcheng. There are a large number of warehouses in Tongzhou, and the grain and various materials transported to Beijing by the provinces must be transferred in Tongzhou, and there are too many grain materials in Tongzhou, and there is absolutely no room for loss, and heavy troops must be arranged for defense. And Tongzhou and Beijing are close at hand, if Jiannu really wants to storm Beijing, he can send reinforcements from Tongzhou at any time.

"Your Majesty, the top priority at the moment is to send a member of the imperial court to comprehensively coordinate the military affairs in Jizhou." The matter of defending Beijing is decided, and the next thing is how to deal with the invasion of Jiannu, Hong Chengchou first suggested.

Huang Liji also hurriedly said: "Yes, a governor should be appointed to be in charge of all military affairs." ”

If the defense is done well, maybe he can still resist the enemy outside the side wall, Huang Liji still has a faint illusion.

Zhou Yanru stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, the minister suggested that the old superintendent of Sun Pavilion should be in Jizhou. Sun Ge has been in Jizhou in western Liaoning for a long time, and he knows the situation there best. ”

Zhu Youzhen shook his head: "The invasion of Jiannu is imminent, and Sun Ge is very old, so I'm afraid it's not suitable to run all the way." I decided to appoint Sun Chuanting as the governor of Jiliao, and ordered him to command all the soldiers and horses in Liaoxi, Shanhaiguan, and Jizhen, and be fully responsible for resisting the invasion of Jiannu! ”

"Your Majesty, I'm afraid that Sun Chuanting is a little lacking in qualifications, right? In Yichen's opinion, it is still Sun Ge Lao who is the most suitable. Zhou Yanru insisted.

"Yes, Your Majesty, Sun Ge has been the old superintendent of Liaodong for many years, and not long ago he presided over the military affairs of Jizhou, and no one knows Jiannu better than him." Huang Liji also persuaded.

The corners of Hong Chengchou's mouth curled slightly, revealing a hint of ridicule, yes, Sun Chengzong has been supervising Liaodong for many years, but he has been repairing bunkers, and he has never fought a hard battle with Jiannu. Although Sun Chuanting's qualifications are shallow, he has just repelled the attack of Jiannu head-on and won thousands of heads! When did this war only depend on seniority?

"Needless to say." Zhu Youzhen said categorically, "Sun Chuanting has been rectifying the Liao soldiers for more than a year, and he is like an arm to the Liao soldiers. Fighting is not only the army, but also planning, as well as logistics, Sun Ge is old and proficient in military strategy, and can assist me in Beijing to control the entire battle situation. ”

"The old minister obeys." Sun Chengzong didn't care if he could be a supervisor or not, and said frankly, "Your Majesty is right, Sun Chuanting is indeed more suitable for a supervisor." ”

Zhu Youzhen glanced at Sun Chengzong approvingly: "Okay, let's just decide." Passed the decree, with Sun Chuanting as the Jiliao Governor, in charge of Jizhou, Liaoxi Shanhaiguan soldiers and horses, all Qinwang troops are also at his disposal, fully responsible for resisting Jiannu.

Hong Chengchou, the secretary of the military department, supervised the defense of the Beijing Division, and Li Banghua, the squire of the military department, was responsible for the defense of Beijing City. ”

"The decree is that all the nobles of the Beijing Division must lead their families to the city to assist in the defense, and the specific responsibilities are assigned by Hong Chengchou and Li Banghua. If the nobles do not listen to the dispatch and refuse to fight, once discovered, they will be removed from their official positions and titles, and they will be removed from the knighthood forever!

Decree, Jinyi Wei stationed in the streets, strict investigation of the construction of slaves, set up a curfew, the people in the city have nothing to do and must not mess around, if there is a troublemaker, not random noisy troublemakers, all as a slave to kill the fine killing, the five cities of the soldiers and horses to assist the Jinyi Guard.

The decree was issued, and all the imperial historians of the Inspectorate suspended all work, and gave me to go to the streets and neighborhoods, go up to the city wall to inspect the city walls, inspect the changes in the city, supervise the Jinyi Guard and the Five Cities Soldiers and Horses, and check the military discipline of the guards. All kinds of violations of law and discipline, all the guards are afraid of war, and all the generals and leading officers embezzle money and food, once verified, they will be dealt with severely, and they should be killed and killed, and their homes should be raided! ”

The words containing killing intent came out of Zhu Youzhen's mouth, and everyone looked Ling Ran when they heard it, and they all felt Zhu Youzhen's strong determination.

"Zhuqing, as long as the government and the opposition are single-minded and work together, there is no problem in blocking the invasion of the slaves!" Zhu Youzhen finally said.

Huang Liji and the others left the Qianqing Palace with solemn expressions, and then they suddenly realized that the rhythm of the entire deliberation process was controlled by the emperor. Moreover, Zhu Youjian's various measures are all in order, and there is no panic at all, as if it has been carefully considered.

However, the news of Jiannu's invasion had just arrived, and Jiannu's vanguard had not even reached Jibei, how could the emperor know in advance, and how could he think about it deeply? This shows that everything is decided by the emperor on the spot.

"It's really a godsend, I can hope for prosperity!" Wen Tiren sighed.

Sun Chengzong and Zhou Yanru glanced at Wen Tiren, although they were usually a little disgusted that this guy followed the emperor in everything, like a courtier, but at this time they felt that Wen Tiren was right. For such a big event, Zhu Youzhen behaved so calmly and handled it so orderly, which is amazing. What's more, Zhu Youzhen is only twenty now, so young, what is this not the Holy Lord?